A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences.

The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt.

Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. With a forthright intensity, Kittle's tale examines a complex subject.Ī teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas. The rather contrived healing and happy ending do not undercut the emotional intensity of Hannah's journey. Through her travels and experiences, Hannah gains a new perspective on the notion of beauty and friendship. Izzy takes Hannah to Africa, where she is documenting the plight of the country’s orphans. When Hannah’s illness spirals out of control, Aunt Izzy, a documentary filmmaker and recovered anorexic, intervenes. Her sometimes graphically detailed and unflinching portrayal of bulimia explores the insidious way it can overtake a person’s life both physically and emotionally. In the wake of this upheaval and the devastating news of her mother’s terminal-cancer diagnosis, Hannah turns to her Secret Remedy-bulimia. Kittle scrutinizes how negative peer opinion can wreak havoc on a young teen’s fragile self-esteem. Suddenly, all that Hannah loves to do-running track, her art work-is deemed uncool. At her new school, Hannah encounters the B-Squad-the reigning trio of eighth-grade girls, who sit in judgment on all things hip. Hannah’s actor parents’ rising-star status necessitates relocating from Ohio to the epicenter of celebrity life: LA.

This frank tale follows a girl’s journey of healing as she recovers from an eating disorder.

Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle